Saturday, May 5, 2012

What inspires you to write?About everything I see, really. I want to include the beauty of spring flowers pushing through the bark mulch, the enticing smells coming from the bakery on Main Street, the squish of beach sand between my toes, the happy twittering of birds around the feeder in the backyard. Okay, that was really corny. But seriously, I am alert all the time for things that will fit in my plots, details that round out my characters. Most of all, I have been people-watching, so that I can work on deepening my characters, making them more alive for the reader.

Who is your favorite author?I have several. First of course is Agatha Christie. If I have not been turned on by her books as a youth, who knows, I might not have ever become a mystery author. Next I love Jefferey Deaver, Lee Child, and Sandra Brown's mysteries. But, I don't care for her romances. British author Ruth Rendell has some of the best characters I've ever encountered. She manages to get into their heads, especially that of the antagonist, without bogging down the forward motion of her plot. She's the one who inspired me to deepen my own characters.

Did you enjoy reading as a child?

I cut my teeth on the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and Agatha Christie. I'm probably giving away my age here. For a while in my teens, I read science fiction. I went alphabetically through every single one on the shelves of the library. But, I eventually longed for the intricacies of the plots, and returned to mysteries after that.

How important is a book cover?I don't want it to be important. Unfortunately, the designer's concept of my stories doesn't always match mine, and I'm inevitably disappointed. But, I know covers are tremendously important. I've heard from some readers that it's the main thing that lures them to a book. When I buy a book, I try to judge by the title, and cover blurb. If they are at all enticing, I will read the first few paragraphs.

Do you have current work in progress?I am working on the fifth in my Angie Deacon murder mystery series, set in upstate NH, titled 'Rest In Pieces.' I got stuck on the plot, or maybe I was bored, being that it was the fifth in a row with the same characters. So, when one of the publishers for whom I edit, asked me to write short stories for them, I got involved in writing an erotica series under a pseudonym. The new writing stimulated my writing juices, besides selling like hotcakes. I have been able to get back into 'Rest In Pieces' and it's almost finished.